Mixed Media is a marathon. A card idea can come together and get produced relatively fast most of the time, but a big mixed media project takes time. The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to use a bit of green sent me off in every direction. This giant tag is 6 1/4" x 9 1/4". I started with Tim Holtz Backdrops Vol 5 and chose an "Old Paper" piece. I cut it to a tab shape and matted it on black cardstock.  Instead of using actual stitching around the edge, I used a very old 49 & Market stamp set called Gabi's Line Stitching and stamped my stitching around the edge. Using Tim Holtz Blossom Stencil and his Opaque Crackle Paste I stenciled onto the paper. To knock down some of the brightness of the crackle paste, I dabbed on Old Paper Distress Ink. 

I rarely use my alcohol inks because I am usually not happy with my results, but this time I just wanted green. I used Ranger Alcohol Ink in Moss along with a little bit of Chronicle on a piece of Duralar paper to just get a mass of green. I die cut this with Tim Holtz Nested Hexagons dies and made a lot of hexagons and hexagon frames. I glued those down, some with foam adhesive. I splattered the tag with Distress Paint in Picket Fence. I took Tattered Rose Distress Spray Stain and Antique Linen Spray Stain and made a mass of an orange-y coral color on Canson XL watercolor paper. I cut 2 of the Tim Holtz Scribbly Butterflies from this and glued them together at the center. 

Next, I fussy cut these 2 amazing flowers from another sheet from the backdrops. That took time. Since the big flower was so fragile, I glued it to a piece of heavyweight vellum that I had already heat embossed with Peeled Paint Distress Embossing Glaze and Tim Holtz Floral Outlines stamp set (my favorite TH stamp set). I glued the small flower directly onto 2 hexagons. Since I wanted to lighten up the area behind my big flower, I put some thread along with a strip of Tim Holtz Mummy Cloth beneath it. I adhered the flower and vellum with carefully hidden foam adhesive. 

Finally, I inked and matted 2 phrases from Tim Holtz Idea-ology Clippings Sticker Book onto black cardstock and adhered them with foam adhesive. I tied some beautiful green Vivant ribbon around the hole I punched at the top. 

I am entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and the Make My Monday Challenge and the Inspiration Station Challenge.

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While the temperatures are just barely inching down where I live (Texas), I'm in full-on fall and Halloween mode with my crafting. Poppystamps latest release is ideal for cards, scrapbook pages, and treat bags too. I started my little ghostly tag using an olive green from Tim Holtz Kraft Stock Stack in Cool. I cut it into a tag shape that is about 3" x 6". Next, I found the ideal fall plaid paper in my Memory Box Woodsy Plaid 6 x 6 Paper Pad. I had a special blade on my Creative Memories paper trimmer so I cut one piece with a scallop edge and adhered that to the top of the tag. I sanded the green tag with a sanding block to reveal the kraft cardstock below the color.

I used Poppystamps' newest Halloween Assemblage die set to cut the ghost from Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb cardstock and the spiderweb from a sheet of black glitter paper from the Memory Box Festive Glitter Pad. I put a small piece of green cardstock behind the ghost to give him green eyes. I also put a swipe of Copic W1 ink down the right side of the ghost to give it a little depth. I used the cauldron from the Poppystamps' Whittle Witch die set cut from orange glitter paper in the same glitter pad. I trimmed off the feet and the handles to make it look like a trick-or-treat bucket. I adhered the spider web to a kraft-colored doily I got from the party section of my local hobby store. Then I used foam adhesive to adhere the ghost and the bucket. I adhered all this to the tag. I added some old alphabet letters from my stash to the bottom of the tag to spell out "trick or treat."

I hope you're taking some time for some autumn or almost-autumn crafting today. You deserve it. 

I started with Vicki Boutin's 140lb Foundations cardstock. This stuff can take any amount of layers without much if any warping. I was amazed. I cut a 6 x 8" piece out and sprayed on Distress Sprays in Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap, plus Iced Spruce in Distress Oxide Spray. Next, I smooshed my cardstock into some Rusty Hinge Distress Oxide mixed with water on my glass mat. 

Next, I tried out the technique of using Micro Distress Glaze as a resist. I dabbed on some glaze through the Tiles and Splotches stencil at the top and bottom. Then I smooshed it into Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide on my glass mat. I couldn't really see the resist, but later I smooshed it into Evergreen Bough Distress Ink and the resist showed up much better. I stamped with Gina K Black Amalgam Ink using the Stampers Anonymous Faded Type stamp set in 2 places. 

I cut the cardstock down into a tag shape and added a hole with a reinforcer punched out from Bazzill's Dark Kraft cardstock colored with some Pumice Stone. Finally, I got the idea to paint with Ranger's gold Foundry Wax through the Harlequin stencil. I was thrilled with how easy that was and how well it turned out. 

For the centerpiece, I started with the dragonfly from Funky Insects (my 'steal' from Hobby Lobby). I cut it from watercolor paper and used Distress Inks in Rusty Hinge, Frayed Burlap, Evergreen Bough, Cracked Pistachio, Antique Linen, and a touch of Cracked Pistachio Distress Embossing Glaze on it. Next I cut the Sizzix Switchlit Seal and cut it from Bazzill's Dark Kraft paper and rubbed some Foundry Wax over the raised edges. I punched a 1.75" circle from Tim Holtz's Idea-ology Cool Kraft Stock, sanded the edges and smooshed a little Pumice Stone ink through the Harlequin stencil. I glued the circle to the seal. I sandwiched a piece of dyed cheesecloth I got from an Etsy seller years ago between the seal and a piece of Idea-ology Memoir Ephemera. 

Finally, I added Tim Holtz saying stickers (can't remember the line) and a tiny piece of ephemera from Field Notes to the tag and tied a rust-colored ribbon aged with Pumice Stone ink to the top.

Whew! It was a lot of work, but fun and educational. 

This tag came together based on a challenge to use a stencil from the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog today. I started with the wonderful Clockwork stencil by Tim Holtz and used the watercoloring-through-a-stencil technique again. It'll be awhile before I get tired of this. I used Distress Inks in Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral and a hint of Spiced Marmalade on Watercolor paper and worked for a good bit to get paint in all the openings. The stencil has great detail and I didn't want to miss it. I loved my results, but at the same time I knew I needed to "knock down" the white space.

First, I pulled out my Wendy Vechi Stampers Anonymous Script Stamp and inked it up, then removed a little ink with a paper towel, and stamped the background in Frayed Burlap. In the top corner I put down some texture paste through the Tim Holtz Harlequin stencil. It still needed something, so I used my fingers to put on a little Frayed Burlap ink. I wanted some metallic sheen so I used some Amaco metallic rub on paste. It's a very dated tool and I forgot that it has to be buffed to show some shine. Oops. I decided to mostly cover that up. I used a pre-scalloped scrap of pattered paper, edged with the burlap ink, on the top right corner. Then I used an old Marvy gold paint pen over a Spellbinders Shapeabilities feather die cut to get my gold. I computer printed my sentiment on Stampin' Up Very Vanilla cardstock and edged it with the same gold paint pen. 

Also entering this at the Cupcake Challenge #538 Anything Goes. 

Do you make your own gift tags or packaging? It's like another gift under the tree. Happy holidays.